Open Access Publishing Models and Author Rights

Green and Gold Open Access models are explained in the Open Access Publishing LibGuide. This summary document explains the 3 publishing models which are commonly referred to describe Open Access.

1. Green Open Access Journals permit you to self-archive the Accepted Versions of publications in an institutional (or subject) repository such as ResearchOnline@JCU.

• Free Open Access option
• Continue to publish in the journals that you would usually publish in
• Retrospectively load Accepted Versions of your publications

2. Gold Open Access Journals are those which provide unrestricted and immediate online access to all articles in a journal via the publisher’s website.

• Access is unrestricted – all that is required is an Internet connection
• Author(s) retain copyright ownership and are free to re-use the content, without requesting permission from the publisher

3. Hybrid “Open Access” Journals do NOT meet the definition of Open Access.

• These journals only enable access to individual articles from the publisher’s website, with the publisher usually requiring author(s) to transfer copyright ownership.

 Sherpa/RoMEO is a searchable database and summarises publisher policies. Search it to see whether you can retrospectively archive articles you have already published and to help you choose where you can publish in the future.

More information:

• Author Rights
• Understanding Publishing Agreements

For more information, contact the Research Services Librarian, Jackie Wolstenholme or the Digital Repository Librarian, Jo Ruxton.